“That one can convince one’s opponents with printed reasons, I have not believed since the year 1764. It is not for that purpose that I have taken up my pen, but rather merely to annoy them, and to give strength and courage to those on our side, and to make it known to the others that they have not convinced us.”
G.C. Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799), courtesy of 'Deogolwulf'

Monday, 16 April 2018

Is there any decency or honour left in Washington?

Look, I'm not a hopeless naïf and I am very definitely no longer a teen-ager so I do not expect the halls of Congress, let alone those of the White House, to be filled with perfect ladies and gentlemen forever striving to act in the highest standards of morality and honour. As totally boring truisms go, there can be none as tedious as that which points out that politics is a dirty business. Even so, as one wades through the Washingtonian filth and sewage, one constantly hopes to spy an occasional gleam of unalloyed gold, a noble gesture, perhaps, or maybe a truth told, or even an act of untainted loyalty. Well, don't hold your breath!

I knew nothing of Mr. James Comey, a man who rose to the highest level of command in the FBI and therefor, a man deserving of some admiration, or at least, some respect. Of course, he suffered a severe punishment from his boss which may, or may not, have been deserved. In my opinion he should have maintained his dignity and honour and simply retired in silence to tend his garden or his golf! Instead, he raced with indecent haste to the nearest and richest publisher in order to grab the money and publish a book denigrating his erstwhile boss, plus his bosses from the previous regime. As far as I can tell - needless to say I haven't read the book - there are no truly 'yuuuuuuuuuuuge' disclosures of crimes, just a dustbin full of tatty gossip, innuendo, aspersions and the usual list of 'he-said-she-said'! And this from a man previously granted one of the most powerful and responsible positions in the land.

Two questions arise. One, would you ever buy a second-hand car from this man and two, would you count your fingers after shaking hands on the deal?

Comments

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Agreed. It is in the little things that we get the measure of the man. If he had something important or interesting to say, then he could be forgiven for breaking cover and stating his case. But retailing pointless gossip and spite means that he will merely be labelled as a man who shouldn't have risen to high office in the first place.

No there is no honor or decency left in Washington. Much too much power at stake with the sheer uncontrollable size and scope of Central Government. America was not designed to operate with nearly all power in DC and a pittance left to the states. We have an elected government by the people who buy the illusion that we are in charge. We have an Administrative Government-Deep State(Swamp)-that answers to hardly nobody, and now we see we have a Shadow Government of weaponized Federal law enforcement agencies. The last two governments I mention are now exposed and will defend themselves at any cost. The have become, not above the law, but outside the law.

In America almost half the population will always see government as overbearing and corrupt because it will be on the wrong side of party and philosophy, and democracy can only be respected if their side is "winning". Besides, being human, politicians are always irresponsible or corrupt to some extent, and lying is in the job description.

Comey comes off like a loopy, politicized, overgrown Boy Scout. His sensibilities are far too delicate for an FBI director and creature of Washington, and he also seems to lack impulse control. His interview remarks and the excerpts from his book are a collection of vengeful, trolling, schoolyard taunts intended to make Trump feel sad. In many ways the Washington environment has hit its lowest low since the Nixon administration.

I don't remember anything in the news about a war between Comey and Cheney, though Cheney probably wouldn't be the kind of guy Comey would like, and Comey wouldn't have been alone. Remember the Cheney charm?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYY1oDDYS18

Valerie Plame, who claims to be of Jewish descent herself, tweeted an article about American Jews boosting wars, but that was last year and she was contrite after first doubling down:

"[T]he pardon of Libby is a long-overdue recognition that he was framed by testimony from Judith Miller, falsely misrepresented — as Ms. Miller repeated last week — by one of Mueller and Comey’s closest professional associates, Patrick Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald knew Libby was blameless and was just trying to take down the vice president by extorting false inculpatory evidence from his chief of staff. President George W. Bush’s refusal to pardon Libby was itself unpardonable. In doing this now, Mr. Trump has served justice and put the spotlight more closely on the whole Mueller-Comey-Fitzgerald school of fascistic prosecution. (Fitzgerald was my prosecutor in Chicago in 2007 and we caught the government in lies almost every day; all of these people would be disbarred in any other judicially serious country, such as Britain or Canada.)"